Doom has always been one of the most recognizable gaming franchises, even if Doom 3 didn’t really impress fans that much. That’s why Doom 4 would inevitably a QuakeCon 2014 highlight just for existing, although that’s not enough for Bethesda at this point. Peter Hines, Bethesda’s VP of marketing and PR, has said that Doom needs to prove itself to new and old audiences if it’s going to stand out from today’s titles..

“The last couple of games were either ‘ok’ or ‘not great’,” Hines told MCV Magazine. “We view that similarly to Wolfenstein, because it’s been so long since the last Doom game. We are going in as if we need to prove ourselves all over again. We have no free passes. Nobody will assume this is going to be awesome.

“We are going to have to prove that this is something that’s going to be fun and different that you need to pay attention to. That has to be our default position, we can’t be: ‘It’s Doom, of course you’re going to play it’. But that just makes us work harder.”

I rather enjoyed Doom 3 for what it was, but it certainly didn’t have the shoot-em-up focus that first drew gamers to the series. Doom 4 will be another reboot, giving Bethesda and id Software a chance to wipe the slate clean and try something new. We’ll find out more about what they have in store at QuakeCon 2014.

]]>http://www.gamefront.com/doom-needs-to-prove-itself-says-bethesda/feed/3ZeniMax Suit Could Cost Oculus, Its Founder $2 Billion or Morehttp://www.gamefront.com/zenimax-sues-oculus-for-breach-of-contract-stealing-tech/
http://www.gamefront.com/zenimax-sues-oculus-for-breach-of-contract-stealing-tech/#commentsWed, 21 May 2014 20:46:54 +0000Phil Hornshawhttp://www.gamefront.com/?p=274062id Software parent company ZeniMax has officially filed a suit against Oculus VR, claiming its technology was used in the creation of the Rift display and asking for Oculus to lose any profits generated using ZeniMax tech.

UPDATE, 2:31 PDT: After consulting with two lawyers on civil suits that include “disgorgement” claims, GameFront has determined that, if ZeniMax wins its suit, the company could be entitled to Oculus profits generated from the use of what ZeniMax claims is its technology. That would mean ZeniMax would receive those profits. We’ve corrected the story below.

ZeniMax Media announced today it filed a law suit against Oculus VR, claiming its technology was integral to the creation of Oculus’ Rift display and asking for Oculus to be forced to give up all profits generated from ZeniMax tech.

According to a press release issued by ZeniMax, the suit, which names Oculus and its founder, Palmer Luckey, alleges the VR company stole trade secrets for use in its Rift head-mounted display. Basically, ZeniMax claims, Luckey’s Rift went from simple garage startup prototype to viable product because of access ZeniMax gave Oculus to technology, hardware and software.

“The suit arises from the defendants’ unlawful exploitation of intellectual property, including trade secrets, copyrighted computer code, and technical know-how relating to virtual reality technology that was developed by ZeniMax after years of research and investment,” the press release states. “ZeniMax provided this valuable intellectual property to defendants under a binding Non-Disclosure Agreement that specifies such intellectual property is owned exclusively by ZeniMax and cannot be used, disclosed, or transferred to third parties without ZeniMax’s approval. ZeniMax’s intellectual property has provided the fundamental technology driving the Oculus Rift since its inception. Nevertheless, the defendants refused all requests from ZeniMax for reasonable compensation and continue to use ZeniMax’s intellectual property without authorization.”

Oculus said in a statement to GameFront that it means to fight the suit:

“The lawsuit filed by ZeniMax has no merit whatsoever. As we have previously said, ZeniMax did not contribute to any Oculus technology. Oculus will defend these claims vigorously.”

In its statement, ZeniMax said its attempts to come to a resolution with Oculus have failed. ZeniMax claims damages in the suit and asks for restitution and licensing fees for the tech it alleges was taken. It also goes further to seek “disgorgement,” which would force Oculus and Luckey to give up all profits generated by what ZeniMax claims was illegal action.

Lawyers consulted by GameFront said ZeniMax would be entitled to those profits if it wins its disgorgement claim..

“We are disappointed but not surprised by Zenimax’s actions and we will prove that all of its claims are false. In the meantime, we would like to clarify a few key points:

There is not a line of Zenimax code or any of its technology in any Oculus products.

John Carmack did not take any intellectual property from Zenimax.

Zenimax has misstated the purposes and language of the Zenimax non-disclosure agreement that Palmer Luckey signed.

A key reason that John permanently left Zenimax in August of 2013 was that Zenimax prevented John from working on VR, and stopped investing in VR games across the company.

Zenimax canceled VR support for Doom 3 BFG when Oculus refused Zenimax’s demands for a non-dilutable equity stake in Oculus.

Zenimax did not pursue claims against Oculus for IP or technology, Zenimax has never contributed any IP or technology to Oculus, and only after the Facebook deal was announced has Zenimax now made these claims through its lawyers.

Despite the fact that the full source code for the Oculus SDK is available online (developer.oculusvr.com), Zenimax has never identified any ‘stolen’ code or technology.”

May 21, 2014 (Rockville, MD) — ZeniMax Media Inc. and its subsidiary, id Software LLC, filed suit today against Oculus VR, Inc. and its founder, Palmer Luckey, for illegally misappropriating ZeniMax trade secrets relating to virtual reality technology, and infringing ZeniMax copyrights and trademarks. ZeniMax is also asserting claims for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and unfair competition against the defendants. The suit was filed in federal court in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

The suit arises from the defendants’ unlawful exploitation of intellectual property, including trade secrets, copyrighted computer code, and technical know-how relating to virtual reality technology that was developed by ZeniMax after years of research and investment. ZeniMax provided this valuable intellectual property to defendants under a binding Non-Disclosure Agreement that specifies such intellectual property is owned exclusively by ZeniMax and cannot be used, disclosed, or transferred to third parties without ZeniMax’s approval. ZeniMax’s intellectual property has provided the fundamental technology driving the Oculus Rift since its inception. Nevertheless, the defendants refused all requests from ZeniMax for reasonable compensation and continue to use ZeniMax’s intellectual property without authorization.

All efforts by ZeniMax to resolve this matter amicably have been unsuccessful. Oculus has recently issued a public statement remarkably claiming that “ZeniMax has never contributed IP or technology to Oculus.” Meanwhile, Luckey has held himself out to the public as the visionary developer of virtual reality technology, when in fact the key technology Luckey used to establish Oculus was developed by ZeniMax.

“Intellectual property forms the foundation of our business,” said Robert Altman, Chairman & CEO of ZeniMax. “We cannot ignore the unlawful exploitation of intellectual property that we develop and own, nor will we allow misappropriation and infringement to go unaddressed.”

“ZeniMax and id Software take their intellectual property rights seriously,” said P. Anthony Sammi, a Partner of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP which represents ZeniMax and id in this matter. “We now look to the federal courts and will pursue all appropriate measures available under the law to rectify defendants’ egregious conduct,” he added.

This is part two of our massive two-part retrospective of DOOM, to commemorate its 20 year anniversary this year. Check out part one for a look back at how DOOM got started way back in 1993.

Welcome back to our spine-tingling, blood-drenched Game Front Halloween Special. In Part 1, we poked around Doom’s guts and found it to be as healthy as a demonic, flesh-eating horse, despite falling from grace. Even as the FPS genre evolved off in a completely different direction, the grand genre progenitor is still doing just fine. Here in Part 2, we’re taking a look at some of the best levels, mods, total conversions and standalone spinoffs the Doom community has produced recently to get new and returning players up to speed. Enjoy!

Oh, and one last thing: If you’ve jumped into Part 2 before reading the first, turn back now! Unless you already know about Doom source ports, GZDoom, Zandronum and such, because you’ll need them to run many of the mods on this page. With that said, let the fun begin.

Level Packs – When All You Need Is More

A key part of Doom’s enduring success is in how easy it is to create new levels. Even as a kid, I could figure my way around the DOS-based Doom editors of the time, and the tools available now (such as Doom Builder) are even smoother and more accessible. Anyone can create a Doom map, but it takes a master to create a campaign worthy of universal acclaim. Here are some of the best singleplayer levels made in recent years, just to give you a taste of what’s available:

Community Chest 4

Over four years in development, this full-length level pack showcases the talents of some of the best creators in the Doom mapping community. While never diverging too far from classic Doom gameplay, the environments are far more varied and detailed than the original Doom 2 campaign; the combined result of a less limited engine, better mapping tools and some excellent new texture art. While the campaign does have a few low points, they’re still far better than the worst of vanilla Doom 2, and the highest points (widely agreed to be levels 20 – pictured above – and 21, which take your adventure into deep space) are nothing short of amazing.

An interesting side-effect of Doom’s massively extended lifespan is an almost incomprehensibly skilled subset of players. With near-arcane knowledge of every gameplay mechanic, enemy AI loop and weapon firing pattern, these players sought out new and interesting challenges, and so the concept of the ‘slaughter’ map was born. These levels are almost puzzle-like in their structure, throwing so many enemies at the player that a precise route must be planned through the chaos, carefully managing resources to win a war of attrition.

Sunder is one of the best examples of this style. Architecturally, these maps are impressive enough, but their biggest strength is pushing Doom gameplay to its absolute limit, each level often containing several thousand enemies to chew through. Literal armies of hellspawn await – regiments of monsters standing shoulder to shoulder – and the only way past them is to blow your way through with plentiful rockets and BFG blasts. Mere mortals will need to rely on quicksaves to progress, but veterans have a chance of making it through in just one life.

Another great full-length level pack, although this, too, is aimed more at veterans than newcomers. Launching straight into the action at a respectable pace, it continually escalates far beyond anything you’d see in Doom 2. While it seldom reaches the insane monster-horde action of Sunder, the later levels do have some pretty crazy battles. What it lacks in mega-scale carnage, it makes up for in tightly choreographed battles that really play to the strengths of each enemy type, and forces you to learn the best tactics to deal with each. While otherwise devoid of plot, Speed of Doom does feel like a coherent campaign, with each level’s end leading directly into the next.

‘Vanilla’ Doom action at its finest. Back To Saturn X is the first in a planned series of themed releases, each built around a new and exceptionally good-looking texture pack. This time round, it’s all high-tech bases, all the time under the glow of an orange alien sky. The enemies remain unchanged, but the environment is fantastically detailed – this is some top-notch pixel art, and best viewed without any filtering effects. To compliment the refreshed visuals, the colour palette of the game itself is subtly tweaked, giving it a fresh look.

The levels themselves are brilliantly designed and paced, and tied together by having each series of maps end with a return to an increasingly decrepit subway ‘hub’ area. BTSX’s levels are never too easy, never too hard, and rewarding to explore. Offering just enough off the beaten track to encourage a little bit of free-thinking, many secret areas are hidden in plain sight, with only the path to them being obscured, giving you a hint of what you’re looking for and a tantalizing glimpse of what the reward will be.

One for the purists, this. While so many other level packs seek to push the boundaries of what the engine can do, DTWiD pulls hard in the opposite direction. Deliberately limiting itself to the style of the original Doom (right down to mimicking the quirks of each individual level designer at iD), the result is a campaign that feels like an alternate version of of the game, pulled from a nearly-identical parallel dimension. It’s every bit as good as the original, just… different.

Unlike most Doom map packs, this one requires the WAD file from the original Doom, rather than the sequel. Being based on classic Doom, it’s also somewhat less aggressive in its enemy placement, making it quite playable even on Nightmare mode, or when combined with difficulty-increasing mods. As an interesting aside, it’s designed so perfectly in sync with the original engine that it’s fully compatible with the classic DOS version of the game, if you feel like going for the full retro experience.

And now for something completely different. Sometimes, all Doom needs is a lick of paint to feel like a new game, and Epic 2 is a fine example of this. Yet another full-length campaign of middling difficulty, this transplants the demon-slaying from UAC research facilities and corrupted hellscapes to the weird world of ancient Egypt by way of Stargate. Cleverly using textures lifted from obscure Build engine game Powerslave (among others), the sandy locales and dusty tombs give the game a distinctly new feeling, and some of the enemies have gotten an Egyptian-esque look to match the new environment.

They’re great levels, too. Not too hard, not too easy, and occasionally very creative in their use of enemy placement – ever tried outrunning a dozen cyberdemons in a narrow maze of corridors? Fun times. Still, cyborg hellspawn in ancient Egypt? As great as these levels are, that combination doesn’t quite gel right. Check out the gameplay mods on the next page for an alternative (if rather retro) set of enemies might just fit this particular environment a little better.

]]>This is Part one of our massive two-part retrospective on DOOM, to celebrate its 20 year anniversary this year. Check out part two for a look at some of the amazing mods the game has inspired over the years.

Happy Halloween one and all! It’s the season for all things evil and demonic, so what better time to take a long, nervous sideways glance at a game so dripping with satanic power that it has scarcely slowed its terrible, gore-drenched advance for two whole decades? Of course, we’re talking about that undying titan of the FPS genre; Doom. The one, the only, the original. A beast that’s still thrashing and kicking twenty years later, and still worth playing to this day.

Not Doom 3, with it’s pitch-black corridors and awkward flashlight fumbling. Not the frequently rebooted Doom 4, trapped in development hell. We’re talking about the original and all its cousins, derivatives and unholy spawns. This is the story of one of the most enduring games in the history of the medium, and the fans that have kept this monster going for all these years.

Original Sin – The Genesis Of Doom

First released in 1993, Doom changed the face of PC gaming. While they’d made some waves with the release of the Catacomb series and later Wolfenstein 3D, this was the release that put iD software on the map. The original free shareware episode (a concept now sadly forgotten) of the game was one of the first major digitally distributed titles, and the game was graphically unparalleled at the time. It was darker, grittier and gorier than the competition. It was unquestionably the future of the FPS.

The release of Doom 2: Hell On Earth the following year cemented iD Software’s place among the greats of the industry. While essentially little more than an extended expansion, the new enemies and additional weapon – the legendary Super Shotgun – filled in the blanks, and while there some debate as to whether the level design was an improvement over the original game, Doom 2 is the title that most think of when you invoke the name, even to this day.

Dissecting The Beast – Why Doom Works

What made Doom so special is hard to pin down, and everyone has their own fond memories, be it of the trap-laden level design, the imaginative monsters or the MIDI Metal soundtrack, lifting riffs wholesale from many of the genre anthems of the time. Even in its shareware incarnation, it was highly replayable, with the upper difficulty settings adding more enemies to the level, increasing the pace and skill required to survive.

One of the best analyses of the game came from JP LeBreton, one of the lead Bioshock level designers. After recreating one of Bioshock’s more iconic levels in Doom, he put forward the theory that, at its heart, Doom was closer to Robotron than any other game. A twin-stick arcade shooter as played from a first-person perspective. Of course, this assessment holds up better when applied to Doom 2 and its larger battles in more open environments, but even the original game feels quite unlike modern shooters, especially when played with the now-standard WSAD + Mouse layout.

Looking back, Doom is almost unrecognizable when compared to modern FPS gameplay. Nowadays, it’s rare to give the player even a fraction of the Doom Marine’s unchecked power. No longer can you run like a cheetah while lugging around eight guns and enough ammo to fight an army. The standard reaction to finding opposition in a modern shooter is to take stock and take cover, wheras at it’s peak, Doom encouraged you to charge headlong into danger with most enemies unable to harm you so long as you kept mobile.

Heresy And Strife – Doom’s Twilight Years

Doom went on to spawn a few official expansions made in collaboration with early community groups, as well as some direct clones, several of which were officially licensed and running on the same engine. Of all the Doom engine games, Heretic was the most superficially similar to its parent. Essentially Doom in a high-fantasy world, it had a few new features, but otherwise felt like more of the same. Hardly a bad thing, but not a great leap forward either.

Hexen later expanded on Heretic’s universe, but the complex hub-based levels often turned into an interminable switch-hunt, and the addition of some light RPG elements was somewhat undermined by each character only having four weapons, rather than the traditional 7-8 of the time. It sold well and even got a Quake-engine sequel later on, but it doesn’t hold up nearly as well as its predecessor.

The final Doom engine game was Strife, arguably an early precursor to Deus Ex, offering dialogue and multiple quest solutions in a post-apocalyptic world of intrigue and violence. Sadly, it came out alongside Quake, dooming it commercially. As if to spite its very existence, every company involved with it went bust, meaning that it can only be found in the depths of eBay or on dusty old Abandonware sites to this day. Still good fun if you can track it down, and host to a small mod collection of its own.

With the release of Quake, iD led the genre they had established down a new road. Higher system requirements led to smaller swarms of enemies, and increasing demands for faster, deadlier online combat led to quicker kills, smaller targets and more precise guns. Eventually, we would see the rise of ‘instagib’ servers, and the popularization of their more dour cousin, the modern tactical shooter.

With the genre itself so far distanced from its parent, Doom now is a niche unto itself, familiar yet strange, retro yet eternally reinventing itself. More through luck than judgement, Doom has become timeless – immortal, even – and that’s why there are still people playing it now. There’s an active community making levels and mods and whole spinoff games based on it, and it’s just not going to stop any time soon. So let’s take a look at the other, sometimes-strange forms that Doom has taken over the years…

Do you love Thief? You probably do. And if you don’t? Well, maybe you should rethink your life…go back to school, maybe start a butterfly collection…get a dog? I don’t know. But most of us love Thief, especially the crew over at Broken Glass Studios.

BGS loved Thief so much, in fact, they released The Dark Mod, a Doom 3-based homage to the stealth FPS genre, back in 2009. The problem is, of course, Doom 3 — many of you young whippersnappers might not even own Doom 3, and more of you don’t have the id Tech 4 bliss installed anymore, what with your game discs gathering dust in an attic somewhere.

But alas! The Dark Mod was upgraded to version 2.0 yesterday. Along with oodles of upgrades to the AI, audio, and all the other herbs and spices that make a game, BGS has unchained The Dark Mod from its Doom 3 oppressor, making the game a standalone release from here on out.

THE DARK MOD was once total conversion of Doom 3, and now is a STANDALONE GAME with the release of TDM 2.0! A dark and moody stealth game, inspired by the “Thief” series by Looking Glass Studios.

It includes creative new gameplay features, dozens of unique AI, and a complete set of custom art assets, allowing players and mappers alike to enjoy missions in a gothic steampunk universe. When you play The Dark Mod, you feel like you’re playing a gothic stealth game…there’s nothing left that’s recognizable from Doom 3.

This game is first and foremost a toolkit, allowing fans and team-members to create their own stealth missions in a gothic steampunk environment. But there are already 60 full missions for download, including some small campaigns, so it certainly feels like a game. The only difference is that you have to choose which missions to install and play.

Setting: The Dark Mod world can be viewed as an alternate version of our own. It is a mixture of several historical periods, with architecture ranging from medieval castles to Victorian mansions. In this world, steam and clockwork technology were discovered much earlier in history, allowing for odd inventions and industrial warehouses to exist side-by-side with Gothic cathedrals and sword-wielding city watch.

Editor: We also maintain our own mission editor, called Dark Radiant. It is an updated version of GTKRadiant, and has a lot new features (Python scripting support, many bug-fixes, new Particle preview, Texture Tool etc.) and comes with a number of Dark Mod related plug-ins like an Objectives or Conversation editor.

More details are available on ModDB (the proper site for The Dark Mod is pretty bogged down at the moment)

Doom 3 was a hit when it released in 2004, but you can only play the game so many times before it gets stale. The BFG edition was a nice step towards revitalizing the game and genre in a time of homogenous shooters, but you know what else works? Mods. They’re free, they’re plentiful, and they’re the creations of dedicated fans.

So here are five mods that every Doom 3 player should check out.

5. Classic Doom 3

This mod is a remake of the original Doom game, making use of the “advanced” graphical features of Doom 3 while retaining the feel and gameplay of the original. Only the shareware levels are included, however.

Classic Doom manages to feel familiar and new at the same time, the way the world feels once you’ve updated your eyeglasses prescription after a few years of putting it off and can suddenly see details more than ten feet away again.

4. Hexen: Edge Of Chaos

Based on the original Hexen game, Edge of Chaos is a hack-and-slash game with a story that ties into the expansion packs and also touches upon the Heretic narrative. All of the original Hexen inventory items are included, and the visual feel of the original was recreated perfectly.

Any Hexen fan must play this mod.

3. Perfected Doom 3

Perfected Doom 3 is more then just a tweak mod — it attempts to completely overhaul the entire game with new monsters, rebalanced weapons, rebalanced monster stats, better graphics, new gameplay features such as “Deadly Attacks,” blood and gore tweaks, ragdoll tweaks, map tweaks, and more. Every weapon and enemy looks, acts, and feels better.

This mod does increase the overall difficulty of the game, which makes it great for Doom 3 veterans looking for a challenge.

2. Sikkmod

Sikkmod is a general enhancement mod for both Doom 3 and its expansion pack, Resurrection of Evil. Its main purposes are to update Doom 3′s visuals and to allow the user to customize various aspects of the game, while maintaining the core mechanics and aesthetics.

Based on the video, it looks like a variety of new rendering techniques are being used, such as Depth of Field, SSAO, and Bloom. Not visible in the video are the few changes to gameplay mechanics, such as health regeneration.

What’s also great is that this mod is simple to use, which can’t be said for other customization mods.

1. The Dark Mod

This total conversion turns Doom 3 into a dark and moody stealth game inspired by the Thief series.

The world of Dark Mod is dark, gritty, and adult. Medieval castles, Victorian mansions, and Gothic cathedrals coexist in this immersive steampunk setting.

Also included is a version of the Doom 3 editor, called Dark Radiant. It comes with a number of Dark Mod related plug-ins like an Objectives or Conversation editor.

We brought The Dark Mod to your attention a year and a half ago, a total conversion for Doom 3 that transforms it into a dark and moody stealth game inspired by the Thief series.

Three years after the mod’s initial release, the devs released their latest update, 1.08, which contains nearly a year’s worth of updates and improvements. They’ve added over 200 new impact sounds, as well as two new vocal sets, AI has been made more realistic, dozens of new art assets have been added, as well as an entire series of new light entities, improved flame particles, performance improvements, additional animations, fixes to some physics issues, and well over 100 other bugfixes.

Today marks the release of id Software’s newly re-amped version of Doom 3, the Doom 3: BFG Edition. With it comes a bunch of new features, most notably the inclusion of the entirety of Doom 3 with 3-D support, and the newly added “Lost Mission” set of levels.

We checked out Doom 3 at QuakeCon 2012 and had a pretty great time revisiting hell in The Lost Mission, and the 3-D was support pretty impressive as well. And the BFG Edition has more than that: it also includes Doom and Doom II, plus the Doom 3 expansion Resurrection of Evil. You’ll have plenty of demons to introduce to rockets.

A fiscal reality of game development on PC for id Software is that consoles bring in more money, and that means the developer has to put more effort into the console side of development than PC.

That’s the sentiment expressed by id Co-Founder John Carmack a year ago and reiterated during his keynote at QuakeCon 2012. It’s also a reality discussed by id Creative Director Tim Willits, who said that multiplatform development is necessary for id to survive and make games, partially because the PC market is small by comparison.

“…To be honest, without a subscription-based game, and if you only make it for the PC, you’re not going to make any money,” Willits said. “Piracy is way too high, the market is way too small, and you’re just not going to make enough to survive, unless you make it subscription-based.”

“I will echo what John said last night: Yes, for business reasons, you need to do multi-platform,” said Willits. “Consoles are pretty slick. Like John said, you come in to QuakeCon, you push a little button, yo’uve got 3-D and it just works. Then you’ve got the PC, which you can do side-by-side 3-D, and NVIDIA has its own 3-D and ATI has its own 3-D, and then you have different drivers, and you’re just gonna pull your hair out. John Carmack had to come down because we had an HDMI cable instead of a DVI cable hooked to a monitor, and it’s just like, ‘Who knew?’ And we’re actually pretty smart. So that’s a pain in the ass.

“The power of the PC is great, but all the different configurations and drivers –- we’ve been doing this for 20 years, and it hasn’t gotten any better, to be honest. Now with social media the way it is, when you screw one thing up, everyone hears about it. There were a lot of people who couldn’t play Doom when it came out, but nobody else knew! (laughs) So there are advantages to developing on the console, there really is.”

Piracy is another big issue that Willits said id, and all developers, have to deal with. Though he said id doesn’t have any plans for “draconian” DRM measures such as always-on Internet connections, piracy is another issue that holds back id from focusing just on PC.

“To be dismissive of piracy is silly,” he said.

But the piracy issue and many of the other problems holding back PC development might be solved in the next five years, if you believe Carmack. During his keynote addressed, he mentioned some thoughts on game streaming technology. Despite some resistance to the “games as a service” model among players and in the industry, Carmack said he thought streaming was a “technological inevitability.” It allows developers to avoid pitfalls of dealing with different configurations, and to maximize their games for the best technology, because games are running on data center computers rather than on the individual machines of each player.

Streaming was something that id seems very positive on, if Willits’ comments are any indication. He also said that he thought the future of the games industry is in streaming — if the technology gets better. It’ll also require a change in gamer culture and perception.

“If we can get stuff to the cloud, it solves the (piracy) problem,” Willits said. “The great thing about id Tech 5 and RAGE, it streams stuff really, really well. So if you can move a game or a part of the game to the cloud, but offer something you can’t get from physical media — ‘Hey, it’s on the cloud, and we have terabytes and terabytes of size that we’re not going to be able to fit.’ Great, you log in, you play that, people will accept it — ‘Oh, I get this added content, but I have to be online all the time.’ Because that’s where the added content is. I mean, nobody complains about (World of Warcraft) (for being always online) because that’s how you play the game.

“And we have no solution for this, I’m talking about what we need to focus on in the future. If we can develop games that offer the player something they cannot get on a physical medium but put it on the cloud and make it stream fast enough, then it’s a win-win situation. And then people will accept always being on. It’s like iTunes — everyone accepts iTunes now. But When it first came out, people were like, ‘I’m just gonna keep stealing stuff.’ But now, people are like, ‘If I steal stuff, I’m an asshole, so I’ll just buy it.’ So if we can get that mentality into gamers, then that’s a solution.”

As it stands, however, both Carmack and Willits said that streaming isn’t quite ready to do the heavy lifting on most games. But as technology improves, speeds increase and Internet connections become more stable, it seems at least two of the top minds at id see your games coming over the Internet, with a constant Internet connection.

]]>http://www.gamefront.com/non-subscription-games-on-pc-dont-make-money-says-ids-willits/feed/8Doom 3 BFG: As Fun As You Recall, Regardless of the Flashlighthttp://www.gamefront.com/doom-3-bfg-as-fun-as-you-remember-regardless-of-the-flashlight/
http://www.gamefront.com/doom-3-bfg-as-fun-as-you-remember-regardless-of-the-flashlight/#commentsTue, 07 Aug 2012 17:31:50 +0000Phil Hornshawhttp://www.gamefront.com/?p=178471Heading back to Hell seems like it'll be a good time.

The flashlight is connected to your armor, and you can still shotgun incoming imps while it’s on. And the battery runs out rather quickly.

And it really doesn’t seem to matter.

Going into my hands-on time with Doom 3: BFG Edition, I was distraught over this consideration. The flashlight-or-gun mechanic of the original Doom 3 was one of my favorite elements of the game (which puts me at odds with roughly half of all humanity, who hated being forced to choose to use one or the other at at time). Because I like to be piss-my-pants scared sometimes, and the requirement of having to choose between seeing — something fundamental to the human experience of the world at least, and of video games of course — and fighting was always extremely unsettling.

But the flashlight is mounted now, mostly because people complained (fun fact: they complained back in 2003, too, and id Software “fixed” the issue with the release of 2004′s Doom 3 expansion, Resurrection of Evil; so this isn’t that big of a deal), but I found myself barely noticing it. The core gameplay of Doom 3 is shooting vicious things that hurl themselves at you, and not being able to see them really doesn’t decrease the tension all that much.

My hands-on time with Doom 3: BFG centered on the game’s newly added eight levels, known as “The Lost Mission.” As id Creative Director Tim Willits told us, the mission takes place basically in the center of Doom 3, concerning a member of the Bravo Team of marines that got their asses handed to them by monsters during the course of the original story. All eight maps are new content made specifically for this release, Willits said.

And why stop what id is working on to create a new version of Doom 3? Willits said that, coming off RAGE, the developer was in the perfect position to do a re-release of Doom 3 while the rest of the studio shifted to work on Doom 4.

“This has been like the perfect storm for us, of, like, Doom 3. The team is wrapping up some RAGE stuff, finishing that up, kind of ramping up on the next project. So we have a couple of people … that we can keep busy,” Willits said.

“And if you look at the consoles, the 360 and PS3 worldwide install base now, I think it’s about 105 million. It’s ridiculous. And of that 100+ million, I think there’s about 60 or 70 million Playstation 3s. And a lot of those Playstation 3 folks never had Playstation 2 or Playstation 1, and they have never actually played a Doom game. And that’s just a huge install base. I think the console install base is just going to drop moving forward, so it’ sreally the sweet spot. We have the time, we have the resources – everyone knows what we’re working on at work, so it’s a great way to bundle everything together.”

The level I played took me to Hell (dammit, again), and was filled with giant things that wanted to murder me viciously. Luckily, the id team was merciful — I was bestowed a number of capable weapons, including a fully loaded BFG. A good thing, too, because the mission was hard.

]]>http://www.gamefront.com/doom-3-bfg-as-fun-as-you-remember-regardless-of-the-flashlight/feed/4Doom 3 “Lost Mission” Trailer Welcomes You Back to Hellhttp://www.gamefront.com/doom-3-lost-mission-trailer-welcomes-you-back-to-hell/
http://www.gamefront.com/doom-3-lost-mission-trailer-welcomes-you-back-to-hell/#commentsSat, 04 Aug 2012 23:41:02 +0000David Mosshttp://www.gamefront.com/?p=178773The demons wanted to picked up some pie and chainsaws for your visit, but Hell was out of pie.

With QuakeCon 2012 in full effect, Id Software decided to roll out a trailer for the upcoming “Lost Mission” which will be available in Doom 3 BFG edition. A collection of eight levels, the Lost Mission will attempt to scare the shit out of players who just can’t get enough of the hellish shooter.

In the new levels, players will return to mars as the last survivor of Union Aerospace Corporation’s Bravo Team. During the trailer a research specialist begs for your help during a montage of disturbing images. Some of the shots in the trailer indicate that the protagonist will be traveling to back to Hell. And oh look, Betruger is back. I bet he’ll be super excited to see the protagonist swung by Hell for another visit. Check out the trailer below to see what Id is cooking up for the Doom fanatics.

]]>http://www.gamefront.com/doom-3-lost-mission-trailer-welcomes-you-back-to-hell/feed/2Gabe Newell is Excited about a new Virtual Reality Headsethttp://www.gamefront.com/gabe-newell-is-excited-about-virtual-reality-headset-the-oculus-rift/
http://www.gamefront.com/gabe-newell-is-excited-about-virtual-reality-headset-the-oculus-rift/#commentsThu, 02 Aug 2012 04:43:03 +0000David Mosshttp://www.gamefront.com/?p=178238Cliffy B and John Carmak are psyched too, I just let Gabe have the spotlight so he'll be in a Half-Life 3 making mood.

When I first saw a set of virtual reality goggles back in the 90′s I thought to myself “This… this is the future!” But now it’s 2012 and VR advancements seem to have hit a bit of a wall. Perhaps it was the less then phenomenal “Virtual Boy” that turned people sour on the concept of VR.

Whatever the case, virtual reality is primed to make a comeback with the “Rift” by Oculus. Created by Luckey Palmer, the goal of the Rift is to bring affordable virtual reality headsets to the masses and also to game developers. In order to get some dev kits of his new technology in the hands of game developers, he’s begun a Kickstarter campaign that’s already brought in over half a million dollars.

So what’s got people so excited? Well it could be that Valve CEO Gabe Newell appears in the Kickstarter video and declares that if anyone can solve the problems involved with Virtual Reality, Palmer Luckey can. And Gabe’s not the only heavy hitter in the video. John Carmak, Id software’s lead programmer for Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein was the one to originally discover the Rift and he’s worked with Luckey to create an VR ready Doom BFG, which will be the first title compatible with the Oculus Rift. Cliffy B also popped up on the video to give another ringing endorsement and says that Epic games is excited for the possibilities.

The really exciting thing about the Oculus Rift is that Kickstarter backers who pledge $300 or more get a dev kit. And if they can sell a dev kit for that low, there’s a good chance that the actual retail product will be affordable enough for the average gamer to pick up. The Kickstarter video is available here, I’d highly advise checking it out. Maybe next we’ll finally get those flying cars!

If you’ve got nothing better to do and can easily transport yourself to Dallas, Texas, during the first week of August, you can play Dishonored at QuakeCon 2012.

We got some hands-on time with the game at E3 2012, and it’s pretty impressive. Players get a lot of powers to mess around with, but stealth is very much encouraged. It felt to me like a mix between Deus Ex and BioShock, and that’s a very good thing.

You’ll also be able to play the Doom 3 BFG edition if you head down to QuakeCon between Aug. 2 and Aug. 5. The whole convention is free, mind you — you can register online and grab more information right here.

In honor of Friday the 13th (which has just come and gone) and the recent release of The Secret World, we thought we’d take a look at video game horror. Horror video games comprise some of the medium’s most vaunted titles, but there have also been conspicuous failures in the genre. What separates good horror games from bad ones? How can we explain the success of mega-franchises like Resident Evil or Silent Hill?

The answer is counter-intuitive. In order to succeed at horror, video games have to suppress three of their most basic instincts:

Power

Games are mostly power fantasies. They allow normal people to pretend to be superheros, grizzled warriors, space marines, or night elves with great abs. Not only do they start out by giving players power that they could never wield in real life, games also concern themselves with the acquisition of more power. Players start in Level 1, at Level 1, furnished with rudimentary weapons and skills that they gradually improve until, by the end of the game, they’re not just unstoppable killing machines — they’re really unstoppable killing machines.

If you’re an unstoppable killing machine, however, it’s hard to be afraid. That’s why successful horror games go out of their way not to empower their players. Harry Mason and Alan Wake aren’t space marines — they’re normal guys. The cumbersome combat controls and scarce ammo in Resident Evil are purposefully limiting. So too the esoteric weapons and headshot-resistant enemies in Dead Space. In Amnesia: The Dark Descent, you have no weapons at all. By taking power away from players — especially power they are used to having in other titles — horror games make them feel vulnerable, and therefore afraid.

Pacing

More! Faster! Video games love nothing better than leading players along at a madcap pace, from location to location, planet to planet, SAS to Army Rangers and back again. Good horror, on the other hand, moves slowly. It’s usually confined to a single location, like a haunted house or a summer camp beset by a knife-wielding maniac. By carefully building anticipation, tension, and dread, it can provide more emotional payoff than a million adrenalized chase-sequences or open-world-spanning quest chains.

Characters in good horror games are methodical, moving through a single town, or derelict spacecraft at a measured pace. They’re often physically awkward, unable to sprint or jump. Plots, too, tend to move slowly, enabling players to take in what’s going on — the better you understand a scary situation, the more it scares you.

3 weeks after being announced, Bethesda has confirmed that their upcoming HD makeover of DOOM 3, DOOM 3: BFG Edition, will be available in North America on October 16, 2012. It will drop 3 days later in Europe. DOOM 3: BFG Edition features versions of DOOM 3 and the Resurrection of Evil add-on pack, plus seven new levels of content entitled ‘The Lost Mission’, which includes a new weapon, the armor-mounted flashlight. In addition, the BFG edition will include Doom and Doom 2, bringing the full original trilogy to the current generation for the first time.

So yes, it is indeed beginning to look like October and November is going to be a crowded time for gamers. Best start saving now because we’ll all be broke come Christmas. Also, just a thought: Could Rockstar hurry up and confirm or deny GTA V rumors? Thanks.

We’re pleased to announce that DOOM® 3 BFG Edition is slated for release in North America on October 16, 2012 and throughout Europe on October 19, 2012. DOOM 3 BFG Edition will feature re-mastered versions of both DOOM® 3 and the Resurrection of Evil® add-on pack, as well seven new levels of content entitled ‘The Lost Mission.’ DOOM 3 BFG Edition will be available in North America on PC for $29.99 and on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 for $39.99.

Re-mastered for both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, DOOM 3 and it’s expansion pack offer enhanced visuals further immersing you in the demonic world like never before. DOOM 3, Resurrection of Evil, and ‘The Lost Mission’ have been optimized in 3D, featuring 5.1 surround sound, Xbox 360 Achievements, PlayStation 3 trophies, improved rendering and lighting, and a new check point save system allowing for smoother progression through the game. id Software has fine-tuned the controls to bring the intensity of the DOOM single and multiplayer experience to the consoles, and DOOM 3 now features the new armor-mounted flashlight, allowing players to illuminate dark corners and blast enemies at the same time.

DOOM 3 BFG Edition will also include the original DOOM® and DOOM® II games, making it the definitive collection of the genre-defining games developed by id Software, the pioneers of the first-person shooter genre.

DOOM 3 BFG Edition has not yet been rated by the ESRB. For more information please visit www.facebook.com/Doom.